PokeChronicles Saga: Volume Emerald
by Avid-8Cancer
Summary: Laid-back, snarky Brendan Birch has just moved into Hoenn and started his journey. From stopping the evil schemes of Team Aqua and Team Magma to keeping up relationships with people such as his headstrong friend and rival, May and the stone-eccentric but quirky Steven. What exactly is in store for this kid? Novelization of Emerald, Rated T to be safe.
1. New Kid from Kanto

The PokeChronicles Saga: Vol. Emerald

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, all rights go to GameFreak and Nintendo.

A/N: Hello everyone, this will be the first chapter of The PokeChronicles Saga, starting with Emerald. I thank all of you for taking the time to read this and hope you will enjoy the adventure that I have written for you.

On a side note, Brendan and May are dressed in their Emerald attire.

* * *

><p>A young man stepped out of the moving truck, taking a deep breath as he examined his new surroundings. Adjusting his hat, he headed towards his parents' house.<p>

Recently, Brendan and his mother had lived in Viridian City in Kanto, but his mother had eventually decided to move to Hoenn where Brendan's father was situated. Finding a way to pass the time, Brendan glanced down at the map of Hoenn for the umpteenth time.

_A tropical region, definitely a lot more different from Kanto, that's for sure._

Brendan wasn't really sure how he felt about leaving Kanto, he didn't make many friends in school, preferring to focus more on his studies, instead. That wasn't to say he was shy, he talked with several students in the past and would never hesitate to ask someone for something he had no savvy for. But whatever, he was hoping that this would be an interesting experience for him, adjusting to his new home.

"So, what do you think Brendan?"

Brendan slowly turned to the voice of his mom, who patted her son's shoulder as she led him into their new home. Brendan gave the usual, firm smile to his mom.

"Pretty cool, different from Kanto."

His mom chuckled and patted her son's shoulder even more.

As they entered the house, Brendan could see several Vigoroth carrying boxes of his mother's favorite dishes and setting them in the kitchen.

"We have the mover's Pokémon taking care of our belongings for us. All your stuff is upstairs. Here, I'll show you your new room!" She took Brendan's hand and led him up the stairs.

His mom led him to his room and gently pushed him inside.

"Now you be a dear and set your clock, okay? I'm gonna go help with the rest of our stuff."

Brendan nodded, then went to scanning his new room while his mom went back downstairs.

His TV placed on a stand with his PS3 neatly placed underneath. A bed near the wall, his PC placed on the study table. Eventually finding his clock hanging up on the wall next to his study table, Brendan breathed with relief.

_Of course, it would nearly be the same as our old home, no reason to worry, right?_

Brendan walked over to the clock, his eyes glanced down at his watch then quickly shifted back to the clock as he began to set the time.

_1: 30 PM. I think that's right._

Brendan smiled, "That should do it." the young man said to himself.

Afterwards, he walked back downstairs and ran into his mother again.

"Honey, why don't you go introduce yourself to the neighbors next door, they have a girl that's about your age. Wouldn't it be great to make your first friend in a new region?"

_For some reason I don't think so, but hey, why not?_

"Yeah, I'll do that but you sure you don't need my help?"

His mother shook her head and ushered her boy outside.

"Of course, we've got it covered." She gave a reassuring smile as she ushered her son out of the house. "Have fun!" She dismissed with a wave.

* * *

><p>Brendan glanced at the tan-colored house with a green roof. Walking up to their doorstep, he was about to knock when the door opened revealing a girl who looked to be about his age. Her brunette locks hanging on both sides of her head which was adorned with a green bandana. An orange, sleeveless shirt coupled with a long, white shirt underneath and skin-tight shorts coupled with a fanny pack clasped around her waist.<p>

In Brendan's eyes, this girl would have easily passed off as a trainer.

"Hey there," Brendan said with a wave.

"Sorry, Mom's busy right now." She said with a bored expression, studying the boy a little more. Brendan could swear her eyes were boring holes into his skin, was he too friendly with her or-

Wait a minute. _Of course_. Her eyes were scanning his head, he had a good idea about what she was thinking, he's been asked that question too many times in Kanto.

"Is that your real hair?" The girl plainly asked.

With a smile he gently removed his hat and revealed his smooth ebony hair, bangs falling in the center of his forehead and either side of his face. He tried his best to stifle a laugh when she looked at him with wide eyes.

Having felt she's seen enough, Brendan quickly put his hat back where it belonged. The girl gave him an incredulous look again as she stared at his hat that she seemed to be infatuated with.

_Honestly, who wouldn't?_ Brendan thought.

Brendan giggled even more at that, having one of his thoughts responding to another thought. That _was_ weird but funny. He noticed the girl just continued to give him a blank stare while she was twiddling with one of her locks, a hand perched on her hip.

_She's looking at me as if I just came from an insane asylum._ Brendan chuckled, _Not that I care._

Hell, he's had giggling fits since he was a kid. Sure, it would aggravate a few people but other people, like his parents, merely accepted it as a weird quirk. Brendan reasoned that it was those sort of bits that make people unique.

"You are who you are, right?" Brendan said aloud but instantly froze when he realized his inner thoughts were leaking out. The girl on the other hand merely rolled her eyes at him.

_Yep, she definitely thinks I'm crazy._

"Whatever, what's your name?" The girl bluntly replied.

"Brendan Birch."

"Oh, you're the Professor's son?" the girl asked as she shut the door behind her, "I went over to his lab to get my starter but he wasn't there, so I was gonna wait near his lab again till he shows up." The girl shrugged. "Some luck, huh?"

So this girl _is_ a trainer-

_Or rather, soon-to-be trainer._

Brendan broke out of his thoughts when the girl spoke.

"Name's May," she extended her hand out and the boy took it. "Hope we can be good pals." Patting his shoulder with her other hand, she broke the handshake and wandered off to his dad's lab.

Brendan left May's house and took another look around the town, stopping when he saw a little girl running from the forest up ahead. He ran up to her, taking notice that the girl was out of breath.

"Hey, calm down," Brendan asked as he held her shoulders in place. "You okay?"

"The professor's being attacked by a wild Pokémon!" The girl yelled.

Brendan's eyes widened at what he heard. Without thinking, he dashed past the girl and into the forest. Immediately stopping when he saw his father being cornered into a tree by a wild Zigzagoon.

"Dad!" Brendan yelled.

Professor Birch quickly perched his head over at his son. "Brendan, quick!"

He tossed a bag near Brendan.

"There's a case with three pokeballs inside, take one out!"

Brendan hastily opened the bag and pulled a silver case out. He opened it and grabbed one of the pokeballs.

Standing up, Brendan held his arm back, ready to toss the ball. "Let's go!"

The ball was tossed into the air and landed on the ground, opening up and releasing a white light. A small, green-colored lizard Pokémon materialized out of the light. It's soft dark-green tail standing up. He glared intently at the Zigzagoon as he stood into a fighting pose.

_Alright, this shouldn't be too hard, just gotta stay calm and-_

Realization hit him, he didn't know what kind of moves this Treecko has.

_Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask good ol' Dad, right?_

"Hey Dad!" Brendan called out to him, "What moves does this guy know?"

Professor Birch perked his head to his son. "Who, Treecko?" He asked, quickly turning his head to the Zigzagoon barking at him. "Pound and Leer!" The professor quickly blurted out, sweat filling his face out of fear.

Brendan nodded in understanding and turned his attention to the grass starter.

"Treecko, use Pound!" Brendan yelled as he pointed to the Zigzagoon.

"Treecko!" the Pokémon complied as he dashed to the Zigzagoon and punched it square in the face, knocking the wild Pokémon back. Sustaining slight damage the wild Zigzagoon struggled with standing up. It used a Growl attack on Treecko to lower its strength. Brendan wasn't sure what it did to Treecko but shrugged it off, his father's life was at stake!

"Treecko, use Pound again!"

Treecko nodded and ran straight towards the Zigzagoon who sidestepped the attack, with a turn of its body and rammed its head into Treecko, knocking it to the ground. The Zigzagoon was ready to do another Headbutt, but Treecko regained its momentum by pushing its hands to the ground and leaping forward.

"Good job, Treecko. Now dodge and use another Pound!"

Treecko stood still, eyeing the Zigzagoon carefully. As soon as the Zigzagoon closed in on it, Treecko jumped on its head, leaped into the air, and gracefully landed across from it. It quickly shifted its entire body toward the Zigzagoon, with its fist flying forward, it managed to successfully land a severe blow to the Zigzagoon, knocking it father away. The Zigzagoon, now severely injured, backed away from the Treecko and dashed into the tall grass.

"Thanks Brendan," The professor quickly regained his composure as walked over to his son. His dad said as he clasped Brendan's shoulder. "That was really impressive what you did there." His dad said with more enthusiasm. "To think that my son would finally get his first Pokémon!"

Brendan gasped as his father pulled him into a bear hug. Honestly, what was it with his dad and hugs?

"Hey Dad, we should head back to the lab. There's a girl there waiting to get her starter."

"Right, my bad." Professor Birch said with a chuckle as he released Brendan, roughly patting the boy's back as an apology. Brendan called Treecko back into his pokeball and the two walked back into town.

* * *

><p>Back in the lab, Brendan introduced the Professor to May, then began discussing to her what happened to his father.<p>

"It was all thanks to this little tyke," Brendan said as he knelt and gently scratched the grass Pokemon's head who purred in response. "Treecko pretty much saved my dad's life."

"Not bad," May looked impressed. "Didn't think you had it in you, kid." She smiled affectionately as she messed with his hat.

"Well May, there's still two more pokeballs left." Professor Birch said as he opened the case. The young girl nodded in agreement as the professor opened the case. revealing two more pokeballs.

"This one has Torchic, the fire-type starter," The professor said as he pointed to the pokeball on the left. "and the other pokeball contains Mudkip, the water-type starter." He said pointing to the one on the right.

"Alright then, I'll take Torchic." May said expectantly as she took the pokeball out of the case. Summoning the Pokémon out of its ball, she picked the orange-chicken Pokémon up and patted its head affectionately.

"Hey there, sweetie!" May cooed, "My name's May!"

The Torchic tweeted in approval, it really liked this, May and was looking forward to being friends with her.

For Brendan, it was unusual to see May change her personality so quickly. When he first met her she was all doom and gloom but then she's all cutesy with a Torchic.  
>It started to get a little weirder when the girl began planting quick, soft kisses to the Torchic's cheek and nuzzling her face into it.<p>

_Maybe she has multiple-personality disorder or some crap like that? Nah._

In any case, he was happy to see May in a brighter mood.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he looked up to see his father giving him a serious look. "So Brendan, what do you plan on doing now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, May here said that she plans on challenging the Pokémon League. Now that you have your first Pokémon, maybe now would be a good time to start your journey, too. You are 17, after all."

Brendan mulled over it for a moment. He never actually thought about becoming a trainer. He had studied up on Pokémon in school, learning the ones that were native to his region, what attacks they used, type advantages and statistics. The concept of how all of this affected the tide of battle was intriguing to him. But he never thought he would be capable of doing it. Then again, the thought of traveling with his Pokémon appealed to him.

Maybe he could be like Red, the Kanto trainer from three years ago. Brendan had heard many tales of the young man's achievements in school and while he pretended to show disinterest, he found the young man's accomplishments to be impressive. Maybe he really should give this adventure thing a try?

"I'll do it." Brendan replied with confident smile.

"That's the spirit!" Professor Birch said as he patted his son's back. "Now then," Professor Birch went to one of the tables and carried two Pokedex, with two cases. He set the cases on the desk, handing the Pokedex to Brendan and May. "Just like any trainer starting their journey, a Pokedex is essential for identifying any Pokémon, their gender, what moves they use. Try it out on your own Pokémon."

Brendan and May nodded in approval as they turned on their Pokedex and scanned their starters. On Brendan's Pokedex, Treecko was identified as male, it's moves being Pound and Leer. For May's Torchic, it was identified as female and knows the moves Scratch and Growl. The duo returned their Pokémon into their pokeballs afterwards.

"With the Pokedex, I would like both of you to capture and record as many Pokémon as you can with this device to help with my research. Which brings me to these,"

Professor Birch opened up both cases to show them five poke balls in both of them. Brendan and May took the balls out of their respective cases and stuffed them in their bags.

"Can't go anywhere without these, their pretty much essential for any trainer starting out on their journey," the Professor explained. "If you run out of pokeballs, you can buy more of them at the local shops in each town along with food, water, and other supplies."

"Well, I'm all set then," May said as she finished stuffing her pokeballs in her fanny pack. "See you in Oldale Town, Brendan."

"You're going at this hour?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, so? A little dark won't scare me, I just need to tell Mom I'm leaving and presto, I'm on my way. Later."

Though he didn't show it, the young man was completely dumbfounded at how straight-forward she answered that and simply watched as May gave her thanks to the professor and quickly left the building. He really had to respect May for her fearless nature.

"Brendan, if you do plan on setting out, you should tell your mother before you go." Professor Birch asked.

Brendan nodded. "Right, thanks Dad."

After a few seconds, Brendan yelped as his father quickly pulled him into a bear hug and began bursting into tears.

"My little boy is finally setting out on his own adventure!" Professor Birch sobbed, "Just like your father!"

Brendan chuckled to himself, _the bear-hugging again, really Dad?_

He didn't really have a problem with it, his dad was a good-natured man but he really had to be going, his hat almost slipped off from his father shaking him back and forth.

"Dad, I kinda have to go now, so-" Brendan trailed off. "Mind letting me go?"

"Oops," Professor Birch released his son, who tried his best to stand straight. It was pretty difficult since his body was still aching from that bear-hug. "Sorry about that." Professor Birch chuckled, then he stared at his son sternly.

"But listen son, it's a tough world out there. You never know what you'll encounter but no matter what, stand strong and keep your head held high."

Brendan nodded.

_Like I always do right?_

"Yeah, I got it." Brendan turned and gave a wave to his dad, who returned the gesture. "Well, I'll see you later."

With that, Brendan took his leave.

"Best of luck to you, Brendan." He murmured as he watched Brendan exiting the door.

After exiting the lab, Brendan wondered how his mom would take the news, in any case, it was getting late and unlike May, he didn't think starting his journey this late at night would be such a good idea. He walked towards his home to tell his mom the news.

* * *

><p>AN: And there is the first chapter, for now. I might make a few changes to this chapter and it might take a while but I do plan on getting this story done.

Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and again, thank you for taking the time to read and review. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

_Also, I'm sure we can all agree that we thought Brendan's hat was his hair when we first played Ruby & Sapphire, right?_


	2. Brendan's First Step

PokeChronicles Saga Vol. Emerald

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, all rights go to GameFreak and Nintendo.

A/N: Hello again everyone. Here is the second chapter where Brendan finally sets foot on his journey. Several things happen in this chapter, I'm trying to get the plot to move along the best I can.

Chapter 2: Brendan's First Step

* * *

><p>"Yep, the first step on my big journey!" Brendan said aloud with fake enthusiasm. The boy stopped and looked around, chuckling to himself. He was in a huge forest and there didn't seem to be anyone nearby, barring his Treecko who gave him a weird look, this was Brendan's chance to let loose and be himself.<p>

Truthfully, he was excited about this but at the same time he was nervous, what exactly would he find? He wasn't even sure he would have what it takes against any of the gym leaders but _screw it_, Brendan had said out loud that he was excited, the ebony-haired teen just reasoned that he would have to try and if this didn't work out, he could always go for something else. He shook the thoughts out with a yawn.

Damn, he was a lot more tired than he thought. He had stayed the night over at his house before setting out, feeling it was safer to start his journey early in the morning unlike a certain _someone_ who was possibly reckless. Problem was, he overslept, courtesy of his mom being overly excited at the news he gave her, literally keeping the boy up the entire night.

_"I'm so happy for you, dear." Brendan's mom pulled him into a tight bear-hug. "Your very own Pokémon, just like you always wanted!"_

_Honestly what is it with the bear-hugs? Brendan thought to himself._

_"Mom, if you keep that up I won't have any air left!" Brendan exclaimed._

_"I'm sorry," Brendan's mother cooed apologetically, releasing her son. "It's just, you're finally going to start on your own adventure! I just-"_

_Here we go._

_Brendan watched as she trailed off, bursting into tears of joy._

Brendan shook his head.

_What's the deal with moms these days?_

Brendan and Treecko stopped in their tracks, eyes shifting to the mounds of tall grass, no doubt there would be numerous wild Pokémon indigenous to this area.

"Well, might as well see if we can catch something." Brendan said to Treecko. The grass Pokémon silently nodded as he followed his trainer into the grass.

They both walked into the tall with caution; Brendan tightly gripped the pokeball in his hand. He wouldn't show it but he was nervous about catching his first Pokémon, Brendan remembered his days back in the Pokémon Academy when they told you that you had to weaken a Pokémon first before you could catch it. It sounds simple enough but it still felt unnerving to the young man.

_And now I'm starting to sweat._

Brendan shook out of his thoughts as he heard a small rattling nearby, quickly tilting his head to where the sound originated from.

"You hear that, Treecko?"

"Treecko." Treecko murmured in reply, getting into a battle stance.

A small centipede-like Pokémon colored in red-pink hopped out of the grass and stood in front of Brendan and Treecko.

"Let's see, this is," Brendan checked his Pokedex, _Wurmple, Bug-type_.

"Guess I'll go ahead and catch this guy," He quickly glanced at the Pokedex, checking the Wurmple's gender and corrected himself, "I mean, this girl."

"Let's go, Treecko!"

Treecko leaped ahead of Brendan, ready to fight.

"Okay Treecko, use Pound!" Brendan ordered.

Treecko ran towards the Wurmple and punched her nose, then he sidestepped backwards waiting for his opponent's next move. Treecko jumped to the side when Wurmple shot out strings of web at him.

"Use another Pound, Treecko!" Brendan yelled, smiling when he watched Treecko land another hit and knock the bug Pokémon back. Brendan examined the Wurmple's injuries and could see that she was struggling to stand.

"So, do I just catch it now?" Brendan asked himself.

Brendan hesitated for a moment as he stared at the empty pokeball.

"I guess I do." Brendan said as he tossed the ball at the injured Wurmple. The ball whacked the Wurmple on her head as it opened up and enraptured her in a red light, minimizing its body into the pokeball. The machine closed itself and landed roughly on the grass. It shook once, then stood still.

_But will it work? _Brendan asked himself as he watched as the ball shook a second time.

_I mean, it looks like its working._

One more shake and the ball was completely motionless, making a loud snap. Brendan examined the pokeball.

"So," Brendan glanced down at his Treecko who looked up at him. "Is that it?" Brendan asked him.

"Treecko!" Treecko chirped at him.

"Okay, so do I just pick it up?" Brendan calmly asked. "What if it breaks out?"

Treecko merely shrugged in response. Brendan gave him a soft smile, hands on his knees as he knelt down to Treecko.

"Do you wanna pick it up?"

The grass Pokémon crossed his arms in disapproval, he was happy to help Brendan but he wasn't going to be the kid's delivery man just because he was scared.

The teen sighed as he let his arms fall flat.

"Right, I'll get it then." Brendan said as he slowly walked up to the pokeball. When he got close enough, he carefully knelt to the ground and slowly reached his arm out to the pokeball.

_Maybe if I just poke the pokeball?_ Brendan thought, he instantly shook his head at the terrible pun he made.

He poked the spherical machine, lightly knocking it back. Brendan yelped but continued to observe the pokeball, still completely stationary. The young trainer quickly grabbed the ball and attached it to his belt.

"Well, that was easy." Brendan said as he pulled out the Treecko's ball.

"Thanks dude, you were a big help," Brendan said to Treecko as they did a fist pump. "I'll heal you up at the Pokémon Center, okay?"

Treecko nodded as he was pulled into the red light that reclaimed him into his ball. Brendan clasped the pokeball back on his belt and turned to walk towards the town that was just a ways ahead, hands behind his head.

_Next stop, Oldale_.

* * *

><p>The venture through Littleroot Forest certainly didn't take long. The trek wasn't too stressful and he managed to catch a wolf-like Pokémon with dark fur named Poochyena. Brendan finally reached the small town and looked to see the Pokémon Center plain as day. He entered the building and took sight of the inside of the building.<p>

The young teen walked up to the counter and gave a smile to the nurse.

"Hello, would you like to restore your Pokémon?"

"Yes please, how much is it?"

"Free of charge, of course. Every trainer can get their Pokémon healed for free."

"Alright then," Brendan placed Treecko and Wurmple's pokeballs on the counter. The nurse took the balls and place them on the machine. After a few seconds, the nurse put the platter on the counter. Brendan grabbed both pokeballs and clasped them on his belt.

"We have healed your Pokémon to full health, take care of yourself." The nurse said as she bowed to the young man.

"Thank you." Brendan replied.

As soon as he stepped out, Brendan was immediately grabbed from behind. He yelped at the sudden force pulling at him. Brendan quickly turned to see who it was, the first thing he noticed was the green bandana, then he looked down at the feminine face.

_May._

"Sup'." May said with a wave.

"Glad to see you're alright." Brendan replied.

May rolled her eyes, "I told you, nothing scares me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Real-

Brendan yelped when she quickly jabbed his shoulder. He grabbed the afflicted area and rubbed it in soothing circles.

"Sorry." Brendan apologized.

"Glad to see you made it though. What was keeping you?"

"I overslept." Brendan grinned sheepishly. "So, why haven't you gone to Petalburg City yet?"

May simply gave him an unreadable expression and just mumbled her words out.

"Eh?" Brendan lowered his head to her better.

_Are you gonna tell me or what?_

"Listen, how about you let me tag along with you for a while." May said softly.

"Why?" Brendan asked.

"I dunno, because I want to." May said. "Now come on." May took Brendan's arm and dragged him to the woods.

"Now, I battled with one trainer up ahead, all he uses is a Zigzagoon, shouldn't be too hard for you to handle." May said as she patted Brendan's back.

The duo stopped near a boy with a blue cap.

"Hey kid, it's me again!" May called out to the youngster who turned his head to her. "This kid wants to battle with you!" she said, pointing at Brendan.

"Alright then! I challenge you to a battle!" The youngster said with enthusiasm. "Think you have what it takes to beat my Zigzagoon?"

With that, the youngster threw a pokeball ahead of him, releasing his Zigzagoon.

"Guess I'll give Poochyena a try." Brendan said to himself. He threw his pokeball and Poochyena popped out.

"Poochyena!" The Pokémon cried.

"Okay Poochyena, start things off with Tackle!

"Dodge and use Headbutt!" The youngster shouted.

Zigzagoon leaped to the side and bashed Poochyena with the attack.

"Poochyena, you okay?"

The Dark-type Pokémon barked in approval and stood in its battle stance.

"Go for another Tackle!"

Poochyena leaped forward and rushed the Zigzagoon to the ground. Another Tackle and Zigzagoon was down in an instant.

"Woah! You beat my Zigzagoon, you're really good!" The youngster exclaimed, running to his injured Zigzagoon and reclaiming it into its ball.

May rolled her eyes at the statement, the kid didn't even put up much of a fight.

"Not bad. Let's keep moving," May stated. Brendan nodded as he returned Poochyena into its ball.

Walking into the tall grass, they stopped when they spotted a Pokémon dressed in white, looking at the duo curiously. The most noticeable detail about this Pokémon was the bowl-cut green hair covering it's eyes and a pink shape sticking out of its head. Brendan has certainly never seen a Pokémon like this before, eyeing the strange Pokémon carefully, he pulled out the Pokedex and scanned the Pokémon.

_So its name is Ralts, a Psychic-type Pokémon and it's female._

Brendan looked up to see the Ralts walking towards him, he flinched when she hugged his leg affectionately.

"It doesn't look like it wants to fight." May pointed out.

"I guess not," Brendan said as he carefully knelt to the Ralts. "Hey there, do you want to come along with me?"

"Ralts!" The Pokémon happily cheered.

Brendan pulled out an empty pokeball and held it in front of Ralts. "I have to catch you first, is that okay with you?"

The small Pokémon tilted its head in thought before nodding to Brendan.

"Alright," Brendan said. He switched the ball on and claimed Ralts in the red light. The pokeball immediately closed with a snap.

"Nice, wish it was like that for me." May joked.

The two continued on their road to Petalburg City. May caught a Lotad along the way and there were several trainers they battled with on the road as well. Treecko managed to learn a new attack move, Absorb, and May's Torchic learned Ember. Eventually, the duo reached their destination.

"Petalburg City." Brendan stated.

"Well duh, Sockhead." May bluntly replied as she jabbed Brendan in his shoulder.

Brendan made a face while he wandered ahead of her.

"So where are we supposed to go?" Brendan asked.

"There's the Petalburg Gym over there," May pointed to the building with a grimace. "But you don't want to go there now, do you?"

Brendan looked at her quizzically. "Why not?"

"We could go somewhere else." May suggested.

"But the gym's right there." Brendan stated. "C'mon."

May put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." May murmured as she followed after Brendan.

The two of them eventually entered the gym, Brendan took the time to examine the surroundings. The structure was made up as a dojo of sorts.

"So what's so bad about this place?" Brendan asked curiously.

"May!" A voice called out. May instantly grimaced while Brendan turned to see where the voice had come from. They looked to see a tall man with smooth ebony-hair, a red jacket and blue cargo pants. To Brendan, he could have easily passed off as an older version of himself.

"Except I'm _way_ better looking." Brendan said aloud. The man raised an eyebrow at the teen and May simply stared into space with a disinterested look, ignoring Brendan's little mishap.

_Crap, I did it again. _Brendan thought disdainfully.

"You're a trainer correct?" The man sternly asked, expression returning to normal. "I'm the gym leader of Petalburg City, Norman."

"Pleasure to meet you." Brendan replied, holding his hand out. Norman didn't return the gesture.

_Ouch, did he take what I said that hard?_

"Are you a friend of my daughter?"

"Your daughter?" Brendan blinked for a moment before he looked at May, who simply sighed in agitation. "May?" Brendan asked as he pointed to her with his thumb.

"Yes." Norman replied.

Brendan began to scrutinize under that stern glare that seemed to burn holes through him, just like May. Brendan reasoned that she had gained that trait from her father.

"So, has my daughter been getting into any trouble lately?" Norman asked, arms crossed.

"No, she's a pretty good friend actually."

"I see." Norman turned to his daughter. "May, you don't have to go through with this you know. No one's forcing you to be a trainer."

May scoffed at that. "Dad, I already told you I _wanted_ to be a trainer. I can handle myself just fine." She retorted with her arms crossed.

Brendan could feel a lump in his throat. He was already feeling uncomfortable from the tension between May and her father, it was pretty obvious those two didn't seem to get along too well. Regardless, it was none of Brendan's business. Not like he had any right to pry on family matters.

Brendan was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard the door to the gym slide open. Brendan and May turned their heads to see a short boy who looked slightly younger than both of them. He had a mop of lime-green hair and sported nothing more than a white-collared shirt and blue jeans.

"Excuse me, I would like to get a Pokémon, please." The boy meekly spoke.

Norman quickly examined and glared down at the boy who interrupted the debate with his daughter. Realization suddenly hit him.

"Ah yes, your Wally, right?" Norman asked.

The frail green-haired boy nodded, holding his wrists together, instantly feeling uncomfortable under Norman's glare.

"Your parents called me earlier, they requested I help you catch a Pokémon but-" Norman trailed off as he looked at his daughter.

"May, why don't you and your friend help Wally catch his Pokémon?" Norman asked. Wally turned to look at the girl he was talking to and his heart instantly skipped a beat. He blushed as he continued to look at the girl named May.

Brendan couldn't help but notice Wally was watching her, blushing madly at the sight of her.

_Does he have a crush on her or something?_

Wally stopped gawking at her when she directed her eyes at him, then back to her father, giving him a bland expression. Personally, May wanted to refuse, she didn't even want to be here right now. Why couldn't Brendan have just listened to her? Now here she was having to play babysitter with a little tyke wanting to catch his first Pokémon.

"Consider it a test to show me if you're really capable of handling yourself." Norman stated bluntly.

May looked to the side and instantly formed a glare on her face when Brendan answered.

"Of course, we'll help." Brendan said for her. May turned to Brendan and gave him a disapproving look.

"Good," Norman turned back to the green-haired boy, handing him a pokeball. "Wally, I'll give you this Zigzagoon so you can catch a Pokémon. You'll also need this to catch a wild Pokémon." Norman finished as he handed the boy an empty pokeball.

"Okay, follow me you guys." Wally said enthusiastically. Brendan followed behind Wally but stopped when he saw May continue to stand where she was with her arms crossed.

"C'mon, May." Brendan called out to her. The girl sighed as she followed Brendan and Wally out of the building.

After the three teenagers left the gym and wandered back to Route 102, the trio slowly trekked through the tall grass.

"Wild Pokémon often hide in the tall grass, so you have to look really carefully for one, right?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, there are several kinds of Pokémon that will pop out." Brendan answered, turning back to May, who followed a ways behind them with her arms crossed.

As expected, a small Ralts popped out of the grass. Its head facing them, looking at them expectantly.

"Do you know what to do, Wally?" Brendan asked, glancing at the young male.

"Yeah," Wally nodded as he threw his ball. "Go, Zigzagoon!"

Zigzagoon popped out of its ball and stood in front of Wally. Brendan quickly pulled out the Pokedex and scanned Zigzagoon.

"Wally, it knows Tackle."

Wally nodded. "Okay Zigzagoon, use Tackle!"

Zigzagoon complied as it rushed into Ralts. It didn't take much for the Ralts to roll back, weakened from the attack.

"So, I just throw a ball at it now, right?" Wally asked, turning to Brendan and May.

Brendan nodded.

"Alright, hope this works." The green-haired teen murmured. "Go Poke Ball!"

Wally tossed the ball and it hit the Ralts. The ball opened and a red light claimed the Ralts inside the pokeball. After three shakes, the ball successfully closed with a loud snap. Wally walked towards the ball and picked it up.

"I got it!"

"Yep, you're very first Pokémon." Brendan exclaimed, happy for the young teen.

"Congrats." May piped in. "Now let's head to my dad's gym. You have to return his Zigzagoon, right?"

Wally turned to her with a blush, cheeks flaring from the girl's praise.

"Right." He blurted out and hid his face the best he could. Wally quickly made his way past the two teens and walked towards the gym.

"What's up with him?" May asked.

Brendan merely gave a simple shrug as the duo went to catch up with Wally.

* * *

><p>The three teenagers entered the gym again and found Norman who was waiting inside.<p>

"So how did it go?" The older male asked.

"I caught a Ralts!" Wally exclaimed excitedly, returning Zigzagoon's pokeball to the older man. "Thank you so much for you help, Norman!"

The gym leader nodded as Wally turned to Brendan and May.

"Thank you for the help you two, I'll be off to Verdanturf Town. See you later!" Wally exclaimed as he left the gym.

"So May, what do you plan on doing?" Norman asked expectantly.

May rolled her eyes. "I told you, I'm going to become the Pokémon Champion, which means I'll be battling _you_ for a badge." May said as she placed a hand on her hips, giving her father an antagonistic glare.

"I suppose," Norman replied. "But I have nothing to gain from battling a greenhorn trainer." Norman bluntly stated, seemingly ignoring Brendan completely. "If it's a gym battle you want, go to Rustboro City and challenge the gym leader, Roxanne. I'll battle you once you have obtained four badges."

"Fine with me," May exclaimed. "I'll get four badges, come back here and show you that I have what it takes to win. I'll prove to you that I _can_ be self-sufficient."

With a huff, May yanked Brendan's arm and turned their heels toward the exit.

"May," Norman called out. The young teen stopped in her tracks as she turned her head to her father. "Try to stay out of trouble."

"Whatever." May blandly replied as she took her leave with Brendan.

After leaving the gym, May stopped and looked at Brendan with a passionate fire in her eyes, she pressed her finger against Brendan's nose as she began talking.

"Brendan Birch, from here on out, you and I are officially rivals." May said with determination.

"We are?" Brendan asked.

May nodded, "That's right, we're both trainers aren't we? It's only natural that we become rivals."

Brendan said nothing as she continued.

"I decided to travel because I wanted to become the Pokémon Champion!" May flicked the teen's nose. "What's your story, Sockhead?"

"Story?" Brendan asked as he rubbed his nose. "I don't have a story, I guess I wanna try and see if I can become Champion, too."

"Then here's what we're gonna do." May said with that same fierce look in her eyes. "Both of us will travel around Hoenn, defeating all eight gym leaders along the way and receive a badge from each of them. Whoever reaches Ever Grande City first with all eight gym badges will get to take on the Pokémon League, the loser has to go home."

Brendan's eyes widened a bit at that last part. That sounded kind of unfair didn't it? It's not like that was actually a rule or anything.

_Sounds like a little too much for me. _Brendan thought_. Then again, I started traveling so I could see if I could accomplish something, so I guess I shouldn't complain._

May stared at him intently as she held her hand out to him. "Deal?"

Should he agree to it? Brendan didn't really believe he could do it. Fight all the gym leaders, sure. He was willing to give that a try, but fight all of them and race to this Ever Grand whatever to fight the Pokémon League first with the loser having to go home? Impractical at best.

"Deal." Brendan firmly stated as he took the girl's hand and shook it.

"Alright then," May said. "First stop is Petalburg Woods!"

After a few seconds of staring, May quickly dashed off.

"See ya, Double D!" May yelled with a wave.

_Did she just call me Double D?_

Brendan shrugged the thought aside and left the city, his next stop would be Petalburg Forest. If he didn't hurry, May will have already gained her first gym badge by the time he showed up to Rustboro. He personally felt like he was giving this girl _way_ too many head-starts.

With that, Brendan dashed after May into Route 104.

* * *

><p>AN: That concludes this chapter, hope everyone enjoyed it. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me in your reviews or PM me and I'll be sure to answer them. As usual, feedback is greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear from you guys!

Avid


	3. Pirates, Poochyena, and Steven, oh my!

PokeChronicles Saga: Vol. Emerald

A/N: Hello again, everyone. My last chapter was a little iffy but this chapter will hopefully be better! Not much to say other than someone important will be making an appearance.

Many thanks to AquilaTempestas and abstemptsy for your reviews and advice!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All rights go to GameFreak and Nintendo.

* * *

><p>Well, Brendan had pretty much lost sight of that girl. No doubt she's already reached Rustboro by now.<p>

_Might as well go at a steady pace._

Brendan had spent some time battling a few trainers along the road, using each of his Pokémon in several battles, a few more ventures and he eventually reached Petalburg Forest.

The coal-haired teen examined his surroundings, taking sight of the dark forest. It was a little creepy in Brendan's eyes but it wasn't like that was going to stop him. Brendan continued on his path, hoping he wouldn't get lost on the way. He wondered what May was doing right now, personally hoping she did not end up lost in the forest.

_Sure hope she's alright._

The teen eventually stumbled upon a man in a lab coat, wandering aimlessly. What Brendan instantly noted was that the man dressed in that was a _tad_ out-of-place, was he looking for something?

"Excuse me, sir." Brendan softly called out.

The man immediately turned his head to Brendan and jumped in surprise. He quickly took a step back but lost his footing and fell on his bottom, yelping in pain. Brendan winced at that but did not forget his manners as he extended his hand out to the man.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"That's alright." The man said shaking his head as he took Brendan's hand and regained his balance.

"What are you doing here, sir?"

"I'm looking for a Pokémon called Shroomish. Have you see any of them here? There my favorites!"

Brendan looked around the heaps of tall grass. Other than the Pokémon he had now, he didn't know much about all the other ones that were indigenous to Hoenn.

"Nope, haven't seen one."

"There you are!" A voice called out. Both males turned to where the voice had come from. The scientist's eyes widened as he quickly hid behind Brendan.

"It's that thug again!" The scientist stated in fear.

Brendan looked to see a Poochyena and a man wearing a blue bandana, black-and-white striped t-shirt with blue pants. Brendan's eyes widened in surprise.

_Egad, a pirate?!_

"Quit hiding behind the punk and hand over those papers, or its curtains for you!"

Poochyena barked in agreement. _And your little bodyguard too!_

Brendan glanced back at the scientist behind him. Was that pirate after him?

"Kid, move!" The grunt yelled.

Upon closer inspection, Brendan took note of the crossbone on the front of the man's blue bandana which was shaped like the capitalized a. Was this guy really a pirate? He could have easily passed off for one but it never hurts to ask.

"What are you, a pirate?"

"What are you, a _punk_?" The grunt retorted harshly.

_Touche, dude. _Brendan thought.

"So, you gonna be a man and protect that coward?"

"I don't even know this guy." Brendan shrugged as he bluntly replied. The scientist gave Brendan a shocked look from his straight-forward answer. Brendan was being honest though, he really didn't know this scientist but this wannabe pirate or whatever he was trying to be, was obviously trying to bring harm to him. Brendan wasn't going to stand by and let that happen.

"Then move outta the way!" The grunt yelled with a lash of his arm.

"What if I don't want to?" Brendan lazily said as he held his hands behind his head, grin clear on his face.

The man smirked sadistically. _Tryin' to be funny, huh? I'll wipe that grin off his in an instant._

"Then I guess Poochyena here's gonna eat well tonight." The grunt threatened with that same sadistic smirk.

The Dark-type barked in approval, glaring at the coal-haired teen in hunger. Brendan continued to stare at the man and his Poochyena with a lazy smile.

"One last chance to run before you get hurt, kiddo."

Brendan sighed as he pulled out a pokeball. "Alright Mr. Pirate, if it's a battle you're looking for then I'm more than happy to comply."

Brendan threw the pokeball in the air and out came his own Poochyena.

"Using the same Pokémon as me?" The grunt scoffed. "You tryin' to make fun of me, kid?"

Brendan ignored the grunt as he extended his arm forward and gave out a command to his Poochyena.

"Poochyena, use Tackle!" Brendan ordered. Poochyena complied as he rushed towards the opposing Pokémon.

"Dodge and use your own Tackle!" The grunt yelled.

The grunt's Poochyena hopped to the side and tackled Brendan's Pokémon to the ground. The two Poochyenas were stuck in a fight for dominance, tackling each other back and forth, swiping paws at one another.

"C'mon, Poochyena!" Brendan cheered. "Go for another Tackle!"

"Don't let him wrangle you down!" The grunt shouted. "Get back up!"

The two wolves recovered from their assault on one another, putting distance between them before immediately going back to tackling each other. Brendan's Poochyena managed to gain the upper hand by headbutting the other Poochyena to the side. With that, the opposing Poochyena fell to its knees and drifted to unconsciousness.

"Way to go, boy!" Brendan stated excitedly. He knelt to the Dark-type and gave him a hug before calling him back into his pokeball.

"Damn it!" The grunt shouted as he withdrew Poochyena into his own pokeball. "Beaten by a kid, the boss isn't gonna happy about this!"

_Boss? _Brendan thought._ So he's working for someone._

The grunt glared at the scientist beside Brendan. "No matter, my team's already after something important in Rustboro! You can keep your flippin' papers!" He shouted before shifting his eyes back to Brendan with a smirk.

"Tough kid, aren't ya?"

"It's only natural, Mr. Pirate." Brendan stated, rubbing his nose.

The grunt rolled his eyes at Brendan's lame comeback as he stood up.

"Some friendly advice to ya then, Team Aqua shows mercy to no one, not even a kid!" The grunt warned, pointing at Brendan.

Brendan merely held his hands up in mock confusion.

"Joke around all you want. I've seen your face kiddo, next time I find ya' it's payback time!" The man said with a smirk, slamming a fist into his palm.

"Alright, take care." Brendan blandly replied with a wave, not at all fazed by his threat.

Sparing one last glance at Brendan, the grunt darted off further into the woods.

"Thank you so much for saving me, Mr-"

"Birch. Brendan Birch."

"As in, Professor Birch's son?"

Brendan nodded. He wanted to skip the pleasantries pretty quickly.

_And I would kind of appreciate it if you didn't look at me merely as just Prof. Birch's son._

"Well, in any case, you saved me from sudden death." The scientist said as shuffled through his pocket, he pulled out what appeared to be a pokeball but this one was different. Instead of red, the top part was covered in blue with black lines streaking both sides.

"This is a Great Ball, it has a better success rate than a Poke Ball. For a young trainer such as yourself, I imagine that this will be very useful for you."

He placed the blue pokeball in Brendan's hand. "Consider it as a token of my appreciation!" The man said with a smile.

"Thanks, I'll make good use of it." Brendan thoughtfully replied.

The scientist nodded before his eyes went wide and his smile dropped, realization hitting him. He looked to the side, then glanced back at Brendan.

"Wait a second, didn't that Team Aqua thug say his group was after something in Rustboro?"

Brendan put a hand to his chin in thought.

"Uh, yeah. I think he did." The teen replied.

The man looked to the side again, thoughts slowly sinking in.

"Crap! I have to get back to Rustboro, it's a crisis!" The scientist said, flailing his arms about.

With that, the man immediately sprinted ahead of Brendan. Come to think of it, wasn't that the same direction the Aqua grunt was running off to? If they're both heading to Rustboro in that direction then that must be the way out. Brendan walked on that path, thinking back to the last battle.

_For a pirate wannabee, he sure wasn't that tough. Maybe I just got lucky? Nah._

Still, who was that man dressed in blue? Brendan had heard the name from the grunt and scientist but he didn't really know anything about this, _Team_ _Aqua_. Was it a criminal syndicate like Team Rocket? It definitely reminded him of the infamous criminal group in the Kanto region where Brendan used to live. He didn't know all the details but from what he heard, those guys had done a lot of cruel things to Pokémon, all for the sake of taking over the world.

Brendan rolled his eyes at that.

_As cliché as that motive may have sound, those guys had actually come close to achieving that._

Of course, the legendary Red with the help of a young female trainer named Leaf, had managed to put down their leader, Giovanni. Team Rocket itself had disbanded a few days afterwards and they haven't been heard from since. If the guy dressed in blue was in league with someone similar to Giovanni then it's fair to say that there was trouble brewing in Hoenn. Brendan, although he did a good job with putting up a front with that grunt to show that he didn't feel threatened, he was actually just a _little_ frightened,_ just a little_.

Brendan had personally hoped he wouldn't end up getting involved in something big, he was more comfortable with trying to take on the Pokémon League but for some reason, he couldn't help shake the feeling that he _would_ end up getting involved with Team Aqua and their schemes, whatever they were.

_If it happens, it happens._ Brendan reasoned, he looked ahead to see a huge clearing and a dark path that appeared to be the way out. After going through the dark path, he took a deep breath. _Ah, sunlight._

Up ahead, he could see a huge pond and a bridge to his right. On his left, there was a small violet-colored building surrounded by a large patch of flowers-beautiful flowers in Brendan's eyes. Maybe he should check that out first? He had plenty of time and he had pretty much lost track of May's whereabouts. She might have already reached the Pokémon League by now, not like that silly bet would stop him from taking on the Pokémon League anyway. Brendan took a nice stroll towards the building.

* * *

><p>After entering the door to the building, Brendan took a look around. The first thing he noticed was a young girl stopping in front of him.<p>

"Hi there, welcome to our shop!" The girl said cheerfully. "Do you like flowers too?"

Brendan drew a blank. He didn't want to come off as rude or anything by saying he didn't, because he really didn't. He just wasn't that much of a flower-centric person is all. His mind quickly raced back to the flowers he saw outside.

"Well, I saw the flowers in front of your shop. Those are really impressive." Brendan modestly replied.

"I grew those ones with my sister!" The girl stated with a bright smile.

"Really, cool!" Brendan said enthusiastically. "You both must be really good at caring for flowers!"

The girl nodded but her eyes shifted when the door behind Brendan opened.

"Excuse me." A masculine voice gently called out.

"Oh, sorry." Brendan turned to where that voice had come from and instantly froze. In front of him was a man who appeared to be in his early twenties, the most notable thing was his silver hair. He flinched when the man was gazing at him with an unreadable expression.

"Double D?" He stated incredulously.

Brendan sighed. _That again. Honestly, Sockhead, Double D, what's next?_

"I'm not Double D. He's not even real." Brendan deadpanned.

"I apologize, the hat kind of reminded me of him that's all."

Brendan shook his head. Steven turned to the young girl.

"Hello, Mr. Stone!"

"Hey there," Steven acknowledged the girl with a wave.

"Did you come here for your dad's case?" The girl said as she walked to the counter and picked up a suitcase.

"Yeah, he really is forgetful, huh?"

"So are you a trainer?" The girl asked, turning to Brendan after giving the suitcase to Steven.

Brendan nodded.

"Yeah, I just started out. I'm heading to Rustboro City now. I'm heading there to battle the gym leader, Roxanne."

"That's awesome! Good luck to you!" The girl responded with a wink.

"Thanks, I think I'm gonna need it." Brendan stated with a thoughtful smile.

"See ya Brendan! Come back again some time, okay?" Brendan nodded with a friendly wave as he walked out of the shop with Steven.

"So, you're headed to Rustboro?" Steven asked. "To challenge the gym leader there?"

Brendan turned around to face the silver-haired man and nodded.

"I was headed to Rustboro, myself. If you want I can show you the way."

Should Brendan take up on his offer? It was rare for someone to offer to escort him to his destination. Then again, Brendan was never really offered a lot of things that much in his life from others, barring his parents and a few other people. The guy before Brendan seemed nice enough, though.

_No harm in it, right?_

"Alright." Brendan firmly stated with a smile. "Lead the way."

Steven smiled as he lead Brendan towards the bridge. Their trek was scarcely quiet, though as both males were silent the whole time, both wanted to say something but neither were sure what to talk about. A lightbulb suddenly lit on Steven's head.

"So, Double D," Steven gestured.

_That lame reference again?_

"No, my name is Brendan, sir."

"Oh," was the only answer Steven gave to him as he stared more closely at the younger male. Brendan flinched a bit, wondering what the man was looking at exactly.

"You look like a Double D to me." The man joked.

Brendan sighed and shaked his head in exasperation.

"That doesn't mean I act like Double D." Brendan retorted with a mock tone.

"Your right, I suppose." Steven said with a smirk. "I apologize."

Brendan rolled his eyes. "Apology accepted." The teen blandly stated.

"So, you just started out as a trainer?" Steven asked.

"Yeah, I don't know how well I'll do but I'm gonna try to do my best."

Steven nodded. "I see, and you're gonna take on the Pokémon League?"

"Yeah, the usual gist for all trainers. Take on the Elite Four and Champion."

"If this Pokémon League thing doesn't work out, I can try something else."

Steven nodded again. Brendan sighed silently, removing his hat and rubbing the back of his hair., trying to think of another topic to discuss.

"I actually moved here to live with my dad in Littleroot a day or two ago."

"And you just started on your journey?" Steven asked with a raised eyebrow. Brendan nodded. "Well, I think it's very brave of you."

They continued walking, watching of several Wingulls flying near the lake.

"So how are you liking it here in Hoenn?" Steven asked.

"It's pretty interesting." Brendan stated. The older male snorted.

"Pretty interesting?"

Brendan rolled his eyes.

"Okay, it's really cool!" Brendan shouted with fake enthusiasm, waving his hands in the air.

Steven stopped and looked at the teen in amusement.

"Sorry," Brendan said, rubbing his hair. "I know I don't actually show a lot of enthusiasm for something but I meant what I said. I'm really liking this place so far."

"I know, you don't have to explain it." Steven said with a wave of his hand.

They both continued walking, Steven took the time to watch Brendan smoothing out his hair.

"So, that's your real hair?" Steven asked, gently placing a hand on Brendan's smooth hair.

Brendan just glared at him before the older male chuckled.

"Sorry, couldn't help it." Steven said apologetically, removing his hand.

"It's fine, I swear though you're just like my friend." Brendan stated before putting his hat back on his head. "At least you were able to tell that was my hat."

"Well, it's pretty obvious." Steven stated with a smirk. "Seems to me like your friend needs to get their eyes checked."

"I suppose."

"Who is your friend, anyway?" Steven asked curiously.

"Why do you want to know that?" Brendan asked, glancing to Steven.

"Cause I want to." Steven grinned.

"Right." Brendan blandly replied. "Her name's May, she's the daughter of the gym leader, Norman."

Steven's face grimaced at hearing that.

"What?" Brendan asked.

"I'm just surprised that your friends with Norman's daughter. He's kind of-"

"Overbearing?" Brendan finished for him.

"Yeah," Steven replied. "I'm guessing you already met him in person?"

"Oh yeah, I already got a taste of it."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah." Brendan replied, wanting to shift the subject from May's father. "Anyway, May's a trainer like myself, she's kind of the first and _only_ friend I've made here."

Steven nodded in understanding.

"She got a head-start but we met each other again and now she wants to put me to the test."

"Put you to the test?" Steven asked.

"It's really stupid. May made a bet that both of us would go around Hoenn, winning all eight gym badges. After that, the first person to reach Ever Grande City would get to challenge the Pokémon League and the loser would have to go home."

Steven nodded.

"Like I said, it's stupid. I mean, the loser would still have all eight gym badges, all they would have to do is wait for the other one to become Champion before they could battle them and take the title for their self."

"Think you can do it?" Steven asked.

"I don't know." Brendan answered with honesty. "Like I said, all I can do is try. I'm gonna give it my all."

"You're very determined. So long as you go at a steady pace and don't push yourself, I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thanks."

They both stopped when they saw two young twins stand up from the bridge and pointed at Brendan.

"We challenge you to a Double Battle!" The twins exclaimed at the same time.

"Double Battle?" Brendan said curiously, glancing to Steven.

Steven nodded. "Yeah, it's where you use two Pokémon in battle at the same time."

Brendan nodded in understanding. As the teen glanced to the older male, he noticed Steven had taken a step back.

"I'll keep an eye on you from back here." Steven answered.

Brendan nodded. He watched as the twins threw their respective pokeballs.

"Lotad!"

"Seedot!"

Two pokemon popped out of the pokeballs. One was a small Pokémon with a large pond leaf over its head and the other resembled an acorn of some sort.

_A Double Battle huh? Sounds pretty cool but who should I use? I'd like to use Treecko, maybe Ralts, too?_

His mind made up, he pulled out two pokeballs.

"Treecko! Ralts!" Brendan yelled as he threw their pokeballs. "Let loose!"

Both Pokémon popped out of their balls, ready for battle.

"Lotad, use Growl!"

"Seedot, use Harden!"

Lotad gave out a loud growl towards Treecko and Ralts, lowering their attack power. While a metal aura formed around Seedot's body, increasing its defense.

"Ralts use Confusion on Seedot! Treecko, use Pound on Lotad!"

Treecko rushed forward and sent a fist toward Lotad, who was unable to dodge the attack. The force of the attack knocked the Pokémon backed a small distance, but it regained its composure and returned to the field of battle.

"Lotad, counter with Astonish!"

Lotad complied and hopped towards Treecko. The gecko Pokémon hopped on top of Lotad and attempted to land another punch. The Lotad took another blow but it still managed to hang in there.

Meanwhile, Ralts managed to keep Seedot busy with its Confusion. The acorn-like Pokémon had taken a fair amount of damage from the special attack, since its Harden move only affected physical defense.

"Seedot, use Bide!" Seedot stood still and energy surrounded its body, charging up its attack.

_Bide, what's that do again?_

Brendan shrugged it off and gave out more orders.

"Ralts, use Confusion on Seedot! Treecko, use Pound!"

Treecko quickly scampered towards Seedot and punched it, the blow itself didn't faze Seedot though due to its increase in defense but Ralts' Confusion was more than enough to severly injure it.

"Lotad, Astonish on Ralts!" Lotad used its attack on Ralts, injuring her from her weakness to Ghost-type attacks. She stood back in pain but she regained her balance.

_I can't let Brendan down!_ She thought to herself. _This is my chance to prove myself to him!_

Ralts mustered up what little strength she had left and launched another Confusion on the Seedot, knocking it out. Lotad was all that remained, Treecko and Ralts made short work of it.

The twins gave up a fair amount of their money to Brendan as per rules of the Pokémon League. After both sides withdrew their Pokémon back into their pokeballs, Brendan and Steven continued on their path toward Rustboro City. Silence took over again until Steven decided to break the ice.

"I'd say you would need to work on your strategy more but other than that, you did pretty well." Steven answered.

"You did pretty well back there," Steven stated. "I think your strategy could use a little work."

"What do you think I could've worked on?" Brendan asked.

"Well, Seedot's Bide move." Steven stated. "It basically makes the Pokémon immobile for 2 turns, then the Pokémon counterattacks with the same amount of damage dealt to it."

_That sounds pretty tough to deal with. _Brendan thought.

"You managed to take out Seedot before it could pull off an attack." Steven continued. "Lotad, its Astonish move is a Ghost-type move."

"So its attack was super-effective against Ralts, right?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah, both attacks are physical-based, though. If you had something like say, a Steel-type or a physical-resistant Pokémon, that could help you greatly."

_Or I could've just used Ralts' Growl. _

"True," Brendan said in understanding. "and if I didn't have either of those, then maybe I could've used a move that lowers Attack?"

Steven thought for a brief second before nodding. "That could also work. Regardless, you still did a good job." Steven finished with a smile.

Brendan blushed a bit, it was rare for someone to compliment him like that. One compliment from someone was more than enough to make him flustered.

"Frankly, I do a good job of hiding it." Brendan murmured.

"Hiding what?"

Brendan's eyes shot up but he instantly corrected himself. _Thoughts leaking out again, bad Brendan._

Brendan was actually more surprised that Steven heard what he said, Brendan didn't think he was talking _that_ loud.

"Sorry, what?" Brendan quickly asked.

"What?" Steven asked.

"You say something?"

"Um, we're finally here." Steven stated with a smile, arm gesturing to the large city ahead of them.

"Rustboro City." Brendan murmured.

"Yep." Steven nodded in agreement.

"So, would you like me to show you where the gym is?" Steven asked.

"Yes, please do." Brendan politely replied.

"Okay, this way." Steven said as he lead Brendan.

Brendan could see the Pokémon Center up ahead. Steven had been kind enough to lead him there to heal his Pokémon, then he escorted Brendan to the gym.

As they were heading towards the gym, Brendan took note of the large building that was standing far from the gym. They eventually stopped at a small building with a tan-colored roof. The words 'GYM' were etched beside the door.

"Well, here we are." Steven stated. "Rustboro City Gym."

"Thanks for leading me here." Brendan said with a grin.

The older male turned to face Brendan, giving the younger male a light pat on the shoulder and a wink.

"No problem, good luck in there."

"Yeah, thanks." Brendan nodded with a smile. The coal-haired teen had reasoned that this man really wasn't so bad, if the opportunity arises he would definitely like to talk to Steven again. Brendan was snapped out of his thoughts when he and Steven flinched at the sound of a ringtone. Steven looked at Brendan with an embarrassed smile.

"Just a second, please." Steven said. Brendan nodded as he watched the silver-haired man pulled out what appeared to be some sort of orange device and held it near his face.

"Yes?" Steven answered. A few seconds passed. "I was helping a trainer to the gym."

Brendan continued to wait patiently as he watched the older male in front of him. A few more seconds and Steven was still talking to the person on that device.

"Yeah, alright. Bye, Dad." Steven said as he shut off the device and put it back into his pocket.

"Everything okay?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah, my dad needs some help with something urgent. Sorry but I have to go." Steven smiled apologetically.

"No problem, be careful out there." Brendan said.

"You too," Steven nodded. "Take care, Double D." Steven shook his head. "I mean Brendan!"

Brendan chuckled as he watched the older male take his leave, heading off to the tall building he saw earlier.

Brendan couldn't help but think back to how many times had Steven done that, today?

_Last time I checked, my hat isn't even the color black!_

The teen shrugged it off as he read the sign in front of the gym.

_Rustboro City Pokémon Gym. Leader: Roxanne. The Rock-type honors student!_

Brendan pulled out all five of his pokeballs and released his companions. Treecko stretched his arms, Ralts looked up at Brendan curiously. Wingull flapped his Poochyena was on all fours letting out a loud yawn and Wurmple crawled over to Brendan's foot, gently nuzzling against him.

"Listen up, guys." Brendan firmly said. All eyes, excluding Wurmple's, were immediately on their master.

"This will be our first gym battle. Don't know exactly what we'll be facing in there and I don't know if we'll win or not but all I ask is that you all simply do the best you can."

Treecko nodded his head in approval, Ralts and Poochyena cried in agreement and Wingull flapped its wings in rapid succession.

"Above all, have fun!"

At this, all Brendan's Pokémon cried in unison, feeling pumped from the pep talk. They were ready for this gym battle.

After claiming his Pokémon back in their respective pokeballs, Brendan took a deep breath as he entered the gym.

* * *

><p>AN: That wraps up this chapter. So what do you all think? Too short? Or do I need to be a little more specific? If there's anything you guys liked or didn't like about this chapter, feel free to leave it in a review or PM me as you see fit. Also, how do you guys think I do on first-person perspective or things like that? Your feedback is greatly appreciated!


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